He'd gotten to her. It brought a slight but knowing smirk to his face. Had Dresden gotten to her? Did she fall for him as much as Karrin had? What was it about that guy? But then another possibilty came to him. Dresden wasn't dead. Dresden was the Winter Knight. Maybe Phaedra was compromised. Damn he hated politics.
"None of my business then." He turned his smirk into a smile and lifted his beer.
Phaedra set the bottle down. The next series of her movements, which were simple, happened far too quickly to be human, and possibly too quickly to be seen. She pushed hair out of her face and, just for a second, intentionally showed Kincaid her fangs. Her eyes bled to the lighter, more frightening shade of green.
He himself wasn't really getting to her. It was this attitude, this just having gotten here and assuming things.
"Do us both a favor," Phaedra said. "Don't make assumptions. You haven't seen me or spoken to me in centuries." The girlish smile came back, but it looked wrong with her eyes that otherworldly shade. "Harry is not the only person I'm protecting. And I've put my ass on the line. I'm a little high strung. Don't push me."
Well now. This was interesting. If Kincaid was bothered by her little display he didn't show it, though his mind did map out exactly where he had weapons stashed nearby. Just in case.
"Stretching yourself a little thin, aren't you babe?" Kincaid's smile didn't reach his eyes, and he didn't straighten in place or otherwise go onto the defensive. "I didn't see anyone else living with Dresden, so how does that work? Protecting more than one person." He was discovering more and more just by this conversation alone, but what he was learning wasn't necessarily answering his questions so much as adding to them.
"It's not really a choice," she said. Her eyes were going back to normal, second by second. "Someone's got to do it, or this place is really in for it. I don't exactly have my normal work environment around to help out. I have humans. And they break easy."
She would no sooner put anyone in Saerian's way than she'd outright bleed them dry. And whoever was after Lindsey, and she could guess... well, no one should be facing that, either. Not unless they were close to indestructible.